“Say (O Prophet), ‘Do! (i.e. Act!) Then Allah will see your deeds – as will His Messenger and the believers – and then you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, then He will inform you of what you used to do.“

(Surah At-Tawbah; 9:105)

The spiteful Zionist occupiers have relentlessly bombed the Muslims of Gaza, cut off basic necessities required to sustain life such as water, food, electricity, fuel and have not spared anyone regardless if they are children, women, elderly and even babies in incubators. This murderous campaign is taking place under the watchful eye of the West, lead by the U.S., the champion of so-called human rights and international law. In reality, the U.S. uses human rights and international law selectively based upon her interests which is never to be applied on the aggressors.

The West has proven time and time again, by the words of hatred they have uttered, the applicability of law is void when dealing with Muslims as they consider Muslims to be animals and savages, so why do we gravitate towards their framework and principles?

Western Solutions Are Designed to Deflect Our Efforts

Even though the U.S. and the West do not apply nor adhere to their own laws, it is sad to say the most ardent adherents of international law are Muslims, as their actions reflect this whenever atrocities take place. Muslims should realise that human rights and international law is not the path that will lead them to the watering place in order to quench their thirst for justice and lifting the oppression. This is actually a poisonous path that the U.S., the great deceiver, and her allies have created to lead Muslims astray and serve as a fatal blow by cementing the occupation. As a result, many sincere Muslims are unaware of the impact their actions are having and what objective it serves. Some have requested to write to their local politicians or the UN, pressured the International Criminal Court, signed petitions, attended protest marches, boycotted western products etc. But from which framework do you think the solution will come from?

Scrutinise the Correctness of Your Actions by Shari’ah

Some say ‘we are doing our bit no matter how small the action is’, but fail to scrutinise whether the action being undertaken is the correct one or not, from a Shari’ah perspective. This type of action is devoid of any thought and is not linked to achieving the end objective. It is based upon an incorrect thought. One does not carry out an action haphazardly in their normal lives, whether that be in their day to day working or academic activities, but instead the action is deeply thought through in order to achieve a particular objective or outcome. Be it completing an essay, studying for exams or where and how to invest to make profit etc. So why do we work haphazardly when we are faced with problematic scenarios facing the Ummah?

All Muslims know that the problem in Palestine is that it is an occupied land and the solution is to remove the occupation. So, all our actions should be aimed at removal of the occupation, no matter how small or big, as long as it is in line with the Shari’ah. Be it through speaking out, writing or influencing, as it is all aimed at working towards the same end goal and objective.

Story of the Small Bird and the Fire

The story of the small bird trying to put out a forest fire comes to mind. As the fire was ablaze, a small bird flew to the river and put water into its beak to try putting the fire out. Each time the bird would put water on the fire, a lizard would blow into the fire to make it more severe. The lizard laughed and mocked the bird and asked; ‘what will your water do to the fire?’

The bird replied; ‘I do not know whether this is enough or not but this is to the best of my ability and on the day of judgement when Allah will question me that what I had done to extinguish the fire, I can answer to Allah that I did the right action and had tried my best.‘

As such, there are some crucial lessons from this simple parable that we can highlight:

1) The bird undertook the correct course of action to put out the fire.

2) The bird carried out the action to the best of its ability in terms of what was within its capability.

3) The bird was not concerned about the results, as that is in the hands of Allah (SWT), but only concerned about answering to Allah.

4) The bird was on the side of good, trying to put out the fire. While the lizard sided with evil, trying to make it more severe.

Get off the Fence and Act Right With Sincerity!

O Muslims! We need to understand the problem from an Islamic perspective to understand the end objective. Only then will we ensure that the actions we are undertaking are correct actions in line with the Shari’ah, and that will lead to the desired Islamic solution. Otherwise, haphazardly acting devoid of any thought will only lead to endorsing a solution that is not from Islam, and will inadvertently prolong the occupation, which is the objective of the enemies of Islam.

Also, we must remember that Allah (SWT) will not ask us about the results as these are out of our control. Allah is the best of planners and He will grant victory to the Muslims when He wills. But what Allah (SWT) will ask us about, and there is no doubt in this, is what role we played in working for the solution. Now is the time to stand up and be counted! We must know as a fact that we will be accountable for what actions we undertook, whether it was in line with Islam and whether it was done for the right objective.

And finally, it is not a time to be sitting on the fence anymore. It’s high time we come off the fence and take a side. And it goes without saying that we should not side with the falsehood nor the forces of darkness and evil, but always be on the side of Haqq (Truth), on the side of the Muslims and on the side of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger (SAW).

“Indeed, those who believe and do good deeds, We do not let the reward of anyone who does a good deed go to waste”

(Surah Al-Kahf; 18:30)